Letter: President further puts environment in danger

To the editor

Published
1:04 pm EDT, Saturday, July 7, 2018

Earthjustice has now filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration. The 100th lawsuit was filed June 21 on behalf of marine wildlife threatened by oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

The attacks on the environment are happening because this president represents a total corporate takeover of the United States. His bucket list is meant to undo the environmental gains made under President Barack Obama: rollback laws limiting dangerous use of chemicals, shrink two national monuments — Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by 84 percent — to free up land for coal mining and drilling, approve the northern section of the Keystone XL Pipeline, fast-track the Pebble Mine that could destroy the last robust salmon run in Alaska, and open up public lands to fracking and logging. For crude oil, the administration has turned to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — home to denning polar bears, migratory bird species and a herd of thousands of caribou.

Our country's wilderness areas and public lands are not only for recreation. They provide jobs for thousands, preserve Native Americans' ancestral lands and provide habitat for countless species; the forests retain groundwater and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Our oceans are home to marine life and provide food for millions of us.

We can't let one man and his ilk destroy what's left of this fragile planet. We all must do something to defend our environment, if we're to win.